Brisbane!

This weekend I went into Brisbane for the first time and absolutely had a blast!

Becky, my roommate and I got up early Saturday morning, had quick breakfasts, and sprinted to the bus stop. The bus drove away as we were running at it. Sadly, we needed to catch that bus (the 8:40) to get to the train station in order to catch the train that would be leaving Landsbourgh Station at 9:11. Terry quickly called a taxi and we were assured that the taxi was already very close and would be at the bus stop to get us within two minutes. Ten minutes later the taxi slowly pulls up. We immediately see why it took so long. The taxi drive is a little old lady. We ask and she assures us we will arrive on time. We get in and once on the express way we are getting passed, and passed, and passed, and passed. The three of us were sighing already accepting that we were going to miss the train. We pull up at 9:12 right after the train pulled out. A $46 dollar cab ride for nothing when we cold have taken the next $1.50 bus ride. We laughed it off and got coffee at a near by cafe and waited the two hours until the next train. I am notoriously bad at public transportation and honestly expected a bump in this journey. Thankfully we made it and the journey proceeded. The train was packed and very lively. There was a large concert, The Future Music Festival, that day and the train was packed with crowds of kids our ages going to the concert.

We got into the city and were shown around by the girl we were staying with from Akron. She has been living in Brisbane for a few months. We did some shopping and got ready for the opening day Reds game. The Reds are a national rugby team. Rugby is huge in Australia and many follow it closely just like our football. The Reds are part of the National Rugby Union opposed to the National Rugby League. The union continues play once tackled resulting in a ruck which is a big pile of big guys. The ball must be passed backwards out of the ruck as well as through out the game. In league when tackled everyone gets up and they lightly kick the ball backwards to a team member while the opposing team backs off a bit. Both forms are very popular. My room mate Terry is a huge Reds fan and plays rugby himself, luckily he spent the previous week explaining rules and terminology to me so I had a good base knowledge at the game. The Reds won after a close and exciting game. The game was a blast and I cannot wait to go see another!

Warm Ups in the Red's Stadium

After the game we went out to the bars in Brisbane. These bars were so nicely decorated. Many were themed with nice patios, several floors, and nice sitting areas. It is very different than bars at home. The music is all very upbeat and techno which is a nice change in my opinion. There is a very strict dress code. No flip flops, men must be wearing nice pants and clean shirts. Women have it a bit easier but it is still nice to have everyone a bit dressier. One of the friends from Uni I stayed with here didn’t get into a bar because his sneakers were a bit dirty. Over all I had a blast and cannot wait to get to explore the city again on my next free weekend!